Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s David Vuillemin overcame torrential rains to capture his best AMA Supercross finish of the year at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Friday night. A strong rider in the wet, Vuillemin finished sixth in his heat race earlier in the night before bringing home fourth place in the abbreviated 12-lap main. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey also put in a strong performance on the RM-Z450, battling for a podium spot for the first several laps. Unfortunately, the swamp-like conditions took their toll on Dungey and he fell behind, eventually finishing in 10th. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mike Alessi is still recovering after breaking his collarbone at the San Diego round and did not race.

In the AMA Supercross Lites class, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Nico Izzi survived the monsoon-like conditions that plagued the riders all night. In spite of racing through standing water, young Izzi finished in ninth place in his abbreviated heat race and made it to the main event. Then, in the also shortened main event, Izzi rode his Rockstar Makita Suzuki RM-Z250 to a safe, albeit drenched, twelfth-place finish.

David Vuillemin: “It wasn’t that bad out there. We started the day half-wet and half-dry, so it wasn’t super in practice. I only rode OK in the heat race, and I made a couple of mistakes. But I love the mud, that’s one of my strong points. In the main, I was able to find some good lines and that helped a lot. I crashed six or seven times, and without that, I would have been on the podium. But fourth is good, it’s my best result of the year. That’s good for me and good for the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team.”

Ryan Dungey: “Overall, I’m happy with how things went. In the main, the track started getting really gnarly. You couldn’t see what you were getting into and what was coming. But I was out there to get experience – and experience, you can’t buy that. I learned a lot and I’m happy with that.”

Nico Izzi: “It was pretty bad out there. I had to take off my goggles because they kept fogging up but then dirt got in my eye and I was pretty much finished after that. I didn’t get a great start because I hadn’t done too well in my heat race, so I didn’t get a good gate pick. But I’d caught up to ninth place, but then I hit a lapper and I fell down and I ended up 12th. But in the end, I survived and I’m healthy for next weekend.”

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, March 15, 2008.

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